Dad Saves Woman on NYC Subway Tracks
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A father of three young children leaped on the tracks of the New York City subway, rescuing a woman as his children looked on in disbelief.
Greg Wetzel, 40, Saturday rescued an unconscious woman who had fallen on the tracks at the 72nd Street subway station moments before a train arrived at the platform, according to police.
A digital sign marking the minutes before the oncoming train would arrive ticked from two minutes to one as Wetzel jumped on the tracks.
“I saw a commotion and as I got closer I saw a woman unconscious laying across the tracks,” Wetzel told ABC News.
“I had to make a bit of a decision. The sign said three minutes, when I looked up again ‘two minutes.’ I had to make a decision and I quickly assessed the risks.”
Wetzel said bystanders on the platform helped hoist the unidentified woman, 50, onto the platform before the train arrived.
Two women looked after his children while he was on the tracks. Seconds later, Wetzel climbed back on the platform himself.
The woman was taken to nearby Roosevelt Hospital, but her condition is unknown, according to police. Wetzel said he did not see the woman fall onto the tracks, but other straphangers told him they saw her stumbling before falling onto the tracks below.
Wetzel, a lawyer for an aviation company, was taking the train with his three children; two boys ages 6 and 7, and his 4-year-old daughter.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio